From heavy floods to tornadoes and typhoons: How a faster-warming China is battling more climate extremes

SINGAPORE: From twin tornadoes tearing through parts of central Hubei province to torrential rains and heavy floods forcing more than 260,000 people to evacuate their homes and causing a mass snake escape in Guangxi as well as scorching heatwaves gripping multiple regions, China has been battered by a succession of extreme weather events in recent weeks.

Scientists say these increasingly volatile conditions have been unfolding as the country warms faster than the global average.

From 1961 to 2025, China’s annual average temperature increased by 0.31 degrees Celsius per decade, exceeding the global average temperature rate over the same period, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) in its annual Blue Book on Climate Change monitoring and assessment report that was released on Jul 2.

China’s average temperature in 2025 ranked among the country’s two warmest years since nationwide records began in 1901, the report said, also noting that northern China warmed faster than the south – and western parts experienced faster warming than the east.

China’s vast landmass is one reason why it’s warming faster than the global average, said Professor Benjamin Horton from the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), also dean of its School of Energy and Environment.

“Land warms faster than oceans,” he said. “Because China is a large continental landmass, it experiences stronger warming than the global average.”

“The rate of warming matters because societies, infrastructure, ecosystems and economies (must) adapt gradually,” said Horton.

“The concern is no longer simply that summers are hotter,” he added.

“The climate baseline itself is shifting so quickly that extremes once considered rare are becoming normal.”  

FROM TYPHOONS AND TORNADOES TO RISING HEAT

China has witnessed a rise in both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events.

In 2025, 11 of 27 typhoons that formed over the northwest Pacific and South China Sea made landfall in China, CMA said.